Micro-internships are an excellent way to gain some exposure to the working world, while not committing your entire holiday to work. These are short attachments to companies, about 2-5 days. These micro-internships occur every vacation, usually in the first week. That gives you more predictability to make holiday plans after the internship.
The annoying thing about Oxford’s holidays system in the Easter and Winter is that six weeks is a long time to be doing nothing (there’s only so much traveling you can do!) but it’s usually not enough to do a full internship. Most companies would demand that interns stay for at least three months so that they have ample time to train and benefit from the intern’s work. Micro-internships are intentionally structured for a short period. As such, they have a set of objectives in order for you to learn in those few short days.
These internships are unpaid, though some will reimburse expenses for travel if necessary. While I’m generally not a fan of unpaid internships, I cannot see how companies would be willing to pay for one week, since the tangible value you can really provide in that week is probably negligible. I would expect most companies to view micro-internships as a way for them to expand their hiring pipeline. Some of my friends impressed their micro-internship supervisors so much that they were given a paid internship for the rest of the vacation, or full-time roles after graduation.
There are a huge variety of roles across multiple industries, so this could also be a valuable way to experience another industry instead of doubling down on another. However, there is a cap on the number of micro-internships you can apply for each season. What I did was to apply for one that is more competitive, and then apply for another in a less-competitive industry, but still something that I was interested in.
Applications usually open up at the start of term, so do be prepared. You will have to write a statement of interest as well as submit your CV, so this could take some time. Do speak with the Careers Service and leverage their expertise in guiding both your choice of micro-internships as well as your application – they were immensely helpful for me. While these micro-internships are just for a week, many are rather established companies and have established a strong partnership and program to make it productive for one week internships. Because of this, competition will usually be really high and getting a spot will be difficult if you lack relevant experience. I would recommend stacking your resume with the relevant society experience in order to stand out to the committee. In addition, because many of these companies are smaller ones, referrals can be helpful if you have friends who were previously at these companies.
I would encourage you to make the most of this opportunity. It’s rare to find out first-hand what a career in a professional field will be like with such a short investment of a few days of your vacation. Besides, although the duration of the micro-internship is short, you have the chance to make an impression on the people working with you, which could lead to doors opening down the road. For me, it was worth giving up a few days of travel or studying over the break to experience working life and meet mentors I still keep in touch with years later.